Dylan's Revenge
by kylieskatz22
Summary: Sequel to Blind to my Love. Even though Dylan's not here anymore, he is, in Riley's mind. He's driving her insane! Can Riley overcome this, or will her mind be taken over by thoughts of Dylan? Riker's there to help her, but what happens when they have a fight?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 **A Few Days Later…**

 **Riley POV**

"Riley! Your boyfriend's here!" My dad shouted down the hall.

"Ok!" I shouted back.

I walked down the hall, and saw Riker standing at the door.

"Hey," I said, hugging him.

"Hey, Riley. Do you want to go down to the beach and talk for a few minutes?"

"Sure."

Riker and I held hands as we walked down to the beach.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked.

"Uh… Well…"

"What is it?"

"I planned something for us."

"What?"

"For a few days, we're going on a camping trip. I have everything all planned!"

"Riker, do you not remember what just happened literally less than a week ago?"

"I know, I know, the whole Dylan thing. But he's gone, and the mountain isn't even near the one we went to last time."

"Riker, that's very sweet of you to plan something like that, but even if I did want to go, I don't think my dad would let me. Think about it. Would my father really want his daughter to go on a camping trip alone with her boyfriend?"

"No. But we won't be alone. Ross and Rydel are coming. And I already asked your dad about it, and he thinks it's a great idea."

"He does? Why?"

"Because you're still addicted to your phone, and having… problems sleeping…"

"Wait, wait, wait. Did he say I couldn't bring my phone?"

"Yeah. He said you have to leave it at home."

"Is he nuts!? Doesn't he remember what happened last time!?"

"Yes, he does. That's why Ross, Rydel, and I are all bringing our phones."

"Well thank goodness for that."

"So will you go!?"

"Uh… Can I think about it? When are we supposed to leave?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow!?"

"Yeah."

"Riker… I don't know about this. I mean… The whole Dylan thing happened less than a week ago, and yeah I'm still having nightmares. It's not that I don't want to go… It's just that I don't know if I want to go _now_."

"Awww come on Riley, please? I already planned it. And one of the reasons I fell in love with you was because you're a little crazy! You do unexpected things. So what, if the whole Dylan thing was only a few days ago? It's over now, and you'll be with me, Rydel, and Ross."

"Well…"

"Come on! Please!?"

"Fine. But only if you do something for me first."

"Sure. What is it?"

"Will you come over tonight for a few hours?"

"Of course. Why?"

"I just want to… talk…"

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah. It's just that a lot has happened to me lately, and I just want to talk about it. I tell you everything, and you always make me feel better."

"Ok. What time do you want me to come over?"

"I don't know. Whenever."

"Ok."

"Thanks. Well I should get back home. I was kind of in the middle of something when you came over."

"Ok. I'll walk you back."

"Thanks."

Riker put his arm around me as we walked back up the road. He always made me feel amazing.

 **Later…**

 **Riley POV**

"So what was it exactly that you wanted to tell me?" Riker asked.

Riker was sitting on the floor, leaning against my bed. I was laying on the ground with my head in his lap, and Riker was slowly rubbing my back.

"I don't know. I guess I just wanted to talk about everything that's happened lately."

"You mean Dylan?"

"Yeah…"

"What about him?"

"I don't know. The whole thing just scares me. He tried to kill me twice! And if you hadn't been there the second time, he would've succeeded! Well actually, if you weren't there the first time, I don't know what would've happened…"

"I know, but I _was_ there, and you're fine!"

"I know."

"Come on, Riley. What's really bothering you?"

"Sometimes I just think…"

"What?"

"I think about that night."

"Riley, you really shouldn't."

"I know… But…"

"But what?"

"I just… I think about when Dylan fell."

"Why?"

"Well… I mean… He fell off a cliff. Theoretically, he should've died, right? But what if he didn't? And what if he's still out there? What if he's waiting?"

"Waiting for what?"

"Another chance to kill me…"

"Riley, don't think like that."

"I try not to, but how can I not!?"

"Riley, I promise, you're safe."

"I hope you're right."

"Riley?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

I sat up and looked at Riker.

"I love you too."

I smiled and intertwined our fingers.

"Did you pack yet?"

"For what?"

"The camping trip!"

"Oh! No… What time are we leaving tomorrow?"

"Hopefully around 9:00. But Ross always makes us late! But I set his clock back 30 minutes, so we might have a chance!"

I laughed.

"Riker?"

"Yeah?"

"I love that you're my boyfriend."

"What's with all the Riker I love you stuff?"

"Nothing. I just love you. And I hate to admit it, but I think it's really sweet that you're taking me on a camping trip. Dylan wasn't at all like you."

"So that's what this is about."

"What?"

"You're only happy because I treat you better than Dylan did."

"That is _not_ true! I'm happy because _you're_ my boyfriend, and I love _you_."

"Wait. Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah…?"

"Do you still have feelings for Dylan?"

"What kind of question is that!?"

"Please just answer it."

"Riker, that's kind of personal, don't you think?"

"So? You always tell me personal stuff! And I tell you personal stuff too! Like I told you I was in love with you! That was one of the hardest things I ever did!"

"Really?"

"Yeah. Well… Actually the hardest thing was trying to pull myself away from you at the hospital when you almost died. But luckily, I didn't have to, and you're ok."

"Yeah… I'm ok…"

"Can you answer the question now?"

"Riker."

"Come on! You always tell me everything!"

"Well then you shouldn't be mad that I don't answer that, then."

"So you _do_ still have feelings for him then!"

"I never said that."

"You didn't have to."

"Riker, wait. Whether I do, or I don't, shouldn't matter to you. You're my boyfriend, and I love _you_. And I really don't want to fight with you before our camping trip. Please just drop it."

"Will you answer it someday?"

"Someday…"

"Yes!"

"Riker, look. I'm really tired, and we're going camping tomorrow. I have to get up early and pack. Do you mind if we cut tonight short so I can get some sleep?"

"No, that's fine. I'll be over here a little early in case you need help with anything."

"Ok. Thanks Riker. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Goodnight Riley."

"I love you."

"I love you too."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **The Next Morning…**

 **Riley POV**

*Beep Beep Beep

"Stupid alarm…"

I reached over and slammed the clock with my hand. How many times had I hit that thing today? I looked over. Too many!

"8:30!? I'm leaving in 30 minutes!" I shouted, sitting up.

I heard a knock on my door, so I got up to answer it.

"Riker!?"

"Good morning! Wait… Why are you still wearing your pajamas?"

I pulled Riker into my room and shut the door.

"I swear, I didn't mean to get up this late! I was just so tired, and then I looked at the clock, and-"

"Riley, calm down. You still have 25 minutes. I'll help you."

Riker pulled me into a hug.

"Thanks. I don't know what I would do without you."

"Awww. I love you so much! Now go get dressed! What can I do to help?"

"Take this backpack, and put all of that into it," I said, pointing at a pile of stuff I had gotten together last night for the trip.

Riker got started on packing while I got dressed. When I came back to my room, Riker was all finished.

"Here," Riker said handing me my backpack.

"Thanks. What time is it?"

"Almost 9:00."

"Should we head over to your house then?"

"Yup."

"Ok."

I gave hugs to my parents before leaving. I also gave them my phone, which I wasn't too happy about. When we got to Riker's, Rydel was yelling at Ross to hurry up. The 3 of us put our stuff in Riker's car. A few minutes later, Ross came running out the door carrying his stuff.

"Ok, who's sitting where?" Ross asked.

"Well Riker's driving. Why don't we let Riley sit in the front with him?" Rydel said to Ross.

"Ok."

"Thanks," I said, getting into the car.

We only drove for about 30 minutes, and then we arrived at the mountain we would be climbing.

"Ok, me and Rydel combined our stuff into one bag, so I'll carry the tents and sleeping bags, and Rydel, you can carry our conjoined bag. And then Ross and Riley, you guys can just carry your own bags," said Riker.

I put on my backpack, and followed Riker to the trail entrance.

"Are you guys ready?" Riker asked.

"Yup," we all said together.

"Ok, let's go!"

 **Later…**

 **Riley POV**

"Are we going to stop for lunch?" Ross asked.

"No. We're going to eat while we walk. Unless Riley wants to stop," said Riker.

"Why if Riley wants to!?" Ross asked.

"Because she's still… recovering…"

"Riley, please say you want to stop! I need a break. My legs are killing me!" Ross pleaded.

"Riker?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"Could we stop?"

"Fine…"

We found a nice place to stop and have lunch. The bugs weren't too bad today, and it wasn't too hot. It was the perfect day to have a mini picnic on our camping trip.

After we had lunch, which was just peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we kept walking. And walking and walking and walking…

 **Later…**

 **Riley POV**

"When are we going to stop walking?" I asked.

"When it gets dark," said Riker.

"Riker, it's getting dark," said Rydel.

"Fine."

"Don't tell me you're not tired!" I said.

"No, I'm plenty tired."

"So then why do you want to keep going?" I asked.

"I don't know. I just do."

Well I'll be sure to find out why, later…

We all dropped our stuff, and unpacked the tents. My dad let us borrow the ones he bought for our camping trip a few days ago. Riker and I were going to share a tent, and Rydel and Ross were going to share the other. We set them up right next to each other. Next we set our sleeping bags up inside. Riker kept hitting his head on the top of the tent, and I laughed at him every time.

Finally we finished, and we just laid on our sleeping bags for a little while, not saying much.

"Riker?" I asked, turning over to look at him.

"Yes?"

"Can I use your phone?"

"Why?"

"To check my Instagram," I said, quietly.

"Riley."

"I know I'm not supposed to, but I really want to!"

"Riley, you know I can't let you do that."

"Please?"

"Riley…"

"Please?"

"Riley."

"Please, Riker?"

"Riley, I'll get in trouble from your parents if I do!"

"So?"

"So I'm not doing that! I'm sorry!"

I rolled my eyes, and put my head face down into my pillow.

"Are you mad at me?"

Awww he sounded guilty! Funny…

"Riley?"

"I'm not mad at you. I'm just frustrated."

I looked up at Riker, and he looked like he felt bad. But it wasn't his fault.

"Riker."

"What?"

"Stop."

"Stop what?"

"Looking so guilty!"

"Sorry! I feel bad now!"

I pulled Riker down onto his pillow. We looked at each other.

"I love you, Riker."

"I love you too."

"Oh would you guys shut up already!" Ross yelled.

"Ross!" Riker shouted.

"What?"

"What is your problem!?"

"We are literally a foot away from your tent! Enough with all the cute, stupid junk you guys are talking about!"

"Hey! When you get a girlfriend, you'll want to do this kind of stuff."

"I'll want to talk like an idiot?"

"Ross."

"Sorry…"

Riker rolled his eyes, and took my hand in his.

"What time is it?" Ross called to our tent.

"Check your phone, genius," Riker shouted back.

"Oh…"

"Well what time is it?" Riker asked after a minute.

"Why don't _you_ check _your_ phone?"

"Sometimes, I really want to punch him in the face," Riker whispered.

Riker pulled out his phone, and showed me. It was only about 8:30.

"What do you guys want to do until we go to bed?" Rydel asked.

 **Riker POV**

"We could tell scary stories," Ross said.

What an idiot he's being tonight! Scary stories are the last thing Riley needs to hear right now.

"Sounds good. Riker, Riley, are you guys up for that?" Rydel asked.

Thanks Rydel…

"I guess so," said Riley.

Ugh...

"Riker? What about you?" Rydel asked.

"Yeah. Sure…"

"Are we going to talk through the tents, or are we going to go outside? Or all squish in one tent? What are we doing?" Ross asked.

"I think we should just talk through the tents. If we're outside, there's going to be a ton of bugs. And if we all go in one tent, it'll get really hot," said Rydel.

"Ok, who's going first?" Ross asked.

"How about you," I said, annoyed.

"Ok, I have the perfect story," said Ross.

Riley and I got in our sleeping bags. Riley was on the side closest to the other tent. I scooched closer to her so I could hear better, and be closer to her if she got scared. Which she did… Thanks Ross…


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Riley POV**

"But he was secretly following them through the woods. He got closer, and closer, and closer…" Ross said, telling the story.

I was hiding in my sleeping bag. Why did he have to tell such a scary story? I wasn't usually afraid of scary stories, but it took place in the woods, it had a murderer, and it made me think of Dylan. And I was terrified of him. Just the thought that he might still be out there… I suddenly didn't really like the idea of being out here for 2 to 3 more days…

I tried to tune Ross out, but my ears just wanted to listen! I imagined the murderer as Dylan. And the people he was following would be me and Riker. Ross stopped speaking for a minute at a really dramatic point. Why wasn't he talking?

I looked up at Riker, and I could barely see him because it was so dark. Riker put his arms around me and pulled me next to him.

"BOO!"

I screamed so loud my ears were ringing. I wasn't the only one scared though. Riker squeezed me so tight, it almost hurt.

I looked up to see Ross two feet away from us, smiling.

"Ha! I totally got you two!" Ross shouted, laughing.

"Well now I'm going to get _you_!" Riker shouted, as he took off chasing his brother.

"Rydel, why didn't you say anything?" I asked.

"I didn't know he was going to scare you guys. I thought he was just getting up to go to the bathroom or something."

"Oh…"

I sat up, and looked out the tent door. Riker had a giant stick, and was chasing Ross around with it. After a few minutes, Riker caught up with Ross, and pulled him to the ground, tackling him.

"Why would you do that?" Riker asked, from on top of Ross.

"I thought it would be funny!"

"Well it wasn't!"

"It was for me!"

"Well not for us!"

"Get off!" Ross said, pushing Riker over.

They walked back to their tents. Riker zipped the door closed, sat down next to me again, and held me in his arms.

"Are you ok?" Riker whispered.

"Yeah…"

"Are you sure?"

Instead of answering, I turned and hugged him.

"All I could think of… was that the murderer was Dylan, and he was getting closer and closer to killing us," I whispered.

"That's exactly what I was thinking too," said Riker, as he started rubbing my back.

"Can we just go to bed?" I asked.

"Yeah."

I sighed, and pulled away from Riker. I laid down in my sleeping bag with Riker right next to me. Now I just have to fall asleep…

 **Later…**

 **Riker POV**

I woke up in the middle of the night. I checked my phone, and it was around 3:00. I looked next to me, and realized Riley was gone. And then I heard her scream.

I ran out of the tent, barefoot. I couldn't see anything, so I listened for movement. And then I realized, duh, call out for her!

"Riley!?"

"Over here!"

As my eyes adjusted, I could see Riley standing about 15 feet away. I immediately ran over to her, and held her in my arms.

"Are you ok!? What happened? Why are you out here?"

"Sorry. I had to go to the bathroom, and then on my way back to the tent, I walked into a spider web. And I hate spiders."

"So do I. But you're ok?"

"Yeah."

I sighed.

"Ok. Good."

Ross suddenly came running out of his tent.

"Riley!?"

"Over here!"

"Are you guys ok?"

"Yeah, we're fine, Ross," I said.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing. Everything's fine," I said.

"So can I go back to sleep then?" Ross asked.

"Sure," I said, pulling Riley back to our tent.

Riley and I got back in our sleeping bags. My heart was still pounding.

"I was so scared something happened," I whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"With Dylan."

"Oh…"

"Ever since you said that thing about like… what if he survived… I've just been… thinking about that… And when I heard you scream, I thought it was him. I have no idea how he would even find us out here, or know where we were, but after what happened that night, I wouldn't put anything past him."

"Yeah… Well thanks for jumping out of bed to make sure I was ok."

"No problem. Did you see how worried Ross was? That was kind of surprising. But I'm glad he cares about you too."

"Yeah. He can be kind of annoying sometimes, but I know he cares."

"Let's try to get some more sleep. We have a long day of hiking tomorrow."

"You mean today."

"Well… Yeah, I guess."

"Goodnight Riker."

"Goodnight Riley."

 **Morning…**

 **Riley POV**

"Everybody ready?" Riker asked.

"Yeah," Ross grumbled.

"Ross?" I asked.

"What?"

"If we ever go on a camping trip again, maybe you should consider staying home."

"There's just so much walking!"

"That's kind of the point," Riker said.

Ross just glared at his brother.

"Ok, let's get started. You two can argue later," Rydel said, pushing Ross forward to start walking.

Today, Rydel led us. Ross followed her, and Riker and I followed Ross. Riker and I walked next to each other, and followed 20 feet behind Ross and Rydel so we could talk without them hearing us.

"So are you tired today?" I asked.

"A little bit."

"Interesting…"

"Well if I hadn't woken up to someone screaming last night…"

"Hey!"

"I know. It's not your fault. I'm kidding."

I sighed and kept walking.

"Hey, are you ok?" Riker asked.

"Yeah…"

"What? Did I say something?"

"No. It's not that."

"Then what is it?"

"I'm just tired."

"Oh."

"Not because of last night."

"Then why?"

"Uh…"

"Riley."

"What?"

"Tell me."

"Wait. _You_ tell _me_ something first."

"Ok. What?"

"Why did you want to keep walking yesterday? You seemed like you just wanted to keep going even though it was getting dark."

"Oh…"

"Why?"

"Because of the whole thing you said with Dylan. I just… wanted to keep going so we were… I don't even know… It was stupid…"

"Riker, it's not stupid."

"It's stupid that I'm scared."

"It's not stupid that you're scared! I'm scared too! It's a possibility, and we're just being careful by considering it."

"I guess so… Now why are you so tired? You're yawning every second!"

"Riker. Do I have to tell you?"

"Riley, you don't have to do anything, but I would really like it if you told me."

I looked away from Riker and focused on following Rydel and Ross. I didn't want to tell him because I was embarrassed.

"Riley?"

"It's embarrassing! You're going to laugh at me!"

"Riley, I promise I won't laugh. I wouldn't do something like that to you."

I looked back at Riker, and he had given me the puppy dog face.

"Oh fine!"

"So why are you tired?"

"Well… You remember how I saw you the day before we left for this trip?"

"Yeah?"

"Well… Earlier that day, I went to an appointment with my therapist. She knows about my sleeping problems, and… everything. She prescribed these pills for me, and they make me feel really tired."

"I thought you were already taking pills for everything."

"I was. But these are stronger because the other ones weren't really working."

"What do they do?"

"They help with my anxiety, and they help me sleep better. Sometimes, like last night, I don't get nightmares."

"But you're done with the pills from the hospital, right?"

"Yeah, I was done with those about a week ago."

"Why did you think that was embarrassing?"

"Because I have to take pills, Riker! I have to take pills to feel like a normal person! That's embarrassing!"

"I don't think it is. You've gone through so much in the past couple of weeks. Of course it's expected that that would've had an impact on you."

"You don't think it's embarrassing?"

"No."

"Well… Thanks…"

 **Later…**

 **Riley POV**

"Can we stop walking yet?" I asked.

"Well… The sun isn't down yet," Riker said.

"We need light to set up the tents and stuff!" I said back.

"Fine. We're done for the day."

Today flew by. We didn't really do anything but walk up the mountain. We had just gotten to the top. I thought it was really cool that tonight we were camping at the top of the mountain. It had an amazing view, and the sunset was also amazing.

"Ok, tonight, we go right to bed. No scary stories. Just sleep. Ok?" Riker said.

"Why not?" Ross asked.

"Because I don't trust you not to do something stupid like last night."

"Well you're not very fun."

"I wasn't put on this earth to be fun. I was put on this earth to be your big brother. I'm the oldest, so I'm responsible for all of you guys. And I say that we're not doing scary stories. Go to bed."

"I'm not even tired!"

"Then just lay there, and think about what you're not going to do so you don't get in even more trouble."

"I'm in trouble?"

"Not yet, but you will be when I tell mom and dad what you did."

"Awww Riker, come on. You don't need to tell them."

"Ross, that was really mean what you did."

"I was just having fun."

"It was _not_ fun. Especially considering…"

"Considering what?"

Riker pulled Ross away from me and Rydel. I figured he was explaining the whole Dylan thing. But of course being Riker, he didn't want to say it in front of me to be nice.

"Are you tired?" Rydel asked.

"Not really... Not yet."

"I think Riker might be taking this a little too far, don't you think?"

"I guess a little bit. But it's just because he cares about me."

"What do you mean?"

"Did he tell you the whole Dylan thing?"

"Yeah."

"Well he just doesn't want me to be scared, especially since we're in the woods like we were when everything with Dylan happened. He knows it messed with me, and I'm seeing a therapist for it, and he just doesn't want it to get any more messed up."

"I see…"

"I'm sorry you guys had to come, and now you have to deal with this…"

"Riley, it's fine. I get it. Riker just cares about you. You're the most important thing to him. He just wants to make sure you're ok. He wanted to take you on a nice camping trip. And if we had to come, that's totally fine with me. I know how much he loves you, and if you're the girl he likes, I'd go on a thousand camping trips to make him happy. Even if you were some horrible person, I'd still go on a camping trip with you guys just because I know how much it means to him. But I think you guys are perfect for each other. I know it means a lot to him that you came out here."

"Really?"

"Totally! Riley, you're the only thing he thinks about, talks about, sings about… You mean so much to him."

"But why did he want to go _camping_?"

"I don't know…"

Riker and Ross came back, and we all decided to do what Riker said, and try to go to sleep anyway. Or at least get in our sleeping bags.

"Riker?" I whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you want to go camping? Like as opposed to something else."

"I just thought… Wait. Do you not like it?"

"Well… I mean, I don't _hate_ it. But there's bugs, I don't have a real bed, no running water, and no actual house. I mean, it's camping. For camping, it's not too bad."

"Oh… Well I thought that since we had a bad experience camping a few days ago, I just figured we needed a _good_ camping experience together."

"Oh… Ok…"

"You _are_ having a good time, aren't you?"

"Yeah. But only because I'm with you."

It wasn't that dark yet, and I could see Riker's cheeks heat up. Ha ha ha…

"Why are you smiling?" Riker asked.

"No reason."

"Tell me!"

"I made your cheeks turn red."

Riker covered his face with his hands.

"Riker!"

"Don't look at me!"

"Why?"

"Because they're even redder now!"

I laughed.

"But I didn't even say anything!"

"I know, but…"

"But what?"

"Nothing."

"Riker, tell me! I tell you everything! Remember what I just told you this morning?"

"Yeah…"

"Well then tell me."

Riker sat up and looked at me.

"Riley, I love you so much. And I still feel the same as when I first met you."

"What does that even mean?"

"I still get butterflies when I'm around you."

"Awww, that's so cute!"

Riker turned red again…

"What happened to going to bed?" Ross called through the tents.

"Sorry!" Riker and I called back, laughing.

I laid down in my sleeping bag again, and within a few minutes, I was fast asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **Middle of the night…**

 **Riley POV**

I woke up crying from my nightmare. Dylan had tried to kill me, and I had just relived it again.

"R-Riker?" I whispered.

I gently shook Riker's shoulder until he woke up. He seemed really concerned when he saw that I was crying.

"Riley, what's wrong? Are you ok?"

"I had a nightmare with Dylan!" I whispered.

"Awww. It's ok."

Riker pulled me into a hug, and I softly cried into his shoulder.

"Riley, it's ok. Try to calm down, ok?"

Riker wiped the tears off my face, and looked into my eyes.

"It's just not fair!"

"What's not fair?"

"He's ruining everything, and he isn't even here! I can't go through the day without thinking about him, and now he's showing up in my nightmares! This isn't ok!"

"Riley, just try to calm down right now. When we get back home, maybe your therapist can do something to help."

"No, Riker. You don't get it. No one can help me! Nothing will make this go away! And it's killing me inside!"

"Shhh! Riley, calm down! Just breathe, ok? Breathe."

I held onto Riker tight, trying not to cry even louder and wake up Ross and Rydel. I tried to calm down and take deep breaths like Riker said.

"Riker, I want to go home."

"Riley, we're on a mountain."

"I want to go home."

"Riley… I don't think we'll be home for 2 more days. Can you try to make it until then?"

I sighed. There wasn't really anything I could do. He was right. We're on a mountain…

"I guess so…"

"Riley, you'll be fine, I promise. I'll help you through, ok? If you have any more nightmares, wake me up. And if you ever want to talk, just let me know."

"Ok. Thanks Riker."

"No problem."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Riley."

"Really? Even though I'm not the same girl you met a few weeks ago? I'm not a normal girl anymore!"

"I don't like normal, Riley. I like _you_."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Even though I wake you up in the middle of the night for something stupid?"

"First of all it's not stupid. And second, Riley, I'll always love you, no matter what. Now come on. You should really try to get some sleep."

"Ok…"

Riker made sure I was comfortable before he laid down next to me again. I loved how he cared about me so much. Especially since I was going crazy thinking about Dylan. Riker had so much patience… Well… Until the next day… That's when everything changed…

 **The Next Day…**

 **Riley POV**

I decided I wasn't going to take my pills today, even though my therapist said I should take them every day. I didn't want to be so tired today. And I wasn't really. But it felt like my brain was going to explode from all of my thoughts about Dylan. I was on edge, and I was just plain paranoid! But I _wasn't_ tired…

Riker pulled me aside for a minute.

"Riley?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you ok? You seem a little weird today."

"Riker, we have to keep walking. Otherwise we'll lose them."

Riker and I continued walking, but we were far enough behind that Ross and Rydel couldn't hear us.

"Riley, please answer me. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. I'm not even tired."

"Why?"

"I don't know… I must've gotten a lot of sleep last night."

"Wait. I didn't mean that you weren't tired. I meant… You just seem really jumpy. And you keep looking around, and behind us, and… Why?"

"I don't know…"

Riker suddenly looked worried.

"What?" I asked.

"Riley, did you take your pills today?"

"Uh…"

"Riley, answer me."

"You said I didn't have to if I didn't want to."

"Riley, this is important."

"I don't care."

"Riley, you need to tell me. Did you take your pills today, or not?"

"Why do you even care?"

"Riley, I just want to make sure you're ok."

"I'm fine!"

I started running closer up to Ross and Rydel.

"Riley, wait!"

"What!?"

"Please answer the question."

I ignored him, and kept walking. Riker grabbed my hand, and stopped me.

"Riley, answer the question."

"Riker, let go of me."

"I will as soon as you answer the question."

"Riker!"

"Just answer it!"

"No, I didn't take my pills! Are you happy!?"

I pulled away from Riker as I started crying. I ran up behind Ross and Rydel, who turned around to see what all the noise was about.

"Riley, are you ok?" Ross asked.

"I don't want to talk about it right now."

Ross hung back to walk with Riker, so I walked with Rydel.

 **Later… Lunchtime…**

 **Riley POV**

We stopped to have lunch today. Again, sandwiches… I sat far away from Riker, and ignored it when he kept looking at me. But when lunch was over, he pulled me aside to talk.

"Riley, please stop giving me the silent treatment."

"But you're being mean to me."

"Riley, I wanted you to tell me because I care about you. Why didn't you take your pills?"

"Because I was tired of being tired!"

"Riley, it doesn't matter. If you're supposed to be taking them every day, then you need to take them every day."

I rolled my eyes and walked away. I didn't care what he thought. But little did he know, I was about to get some revenge…

We kept walking. Ross and Rydel walked in the front. Riker and I walked in the back. But I still wasn't talking to him. Riker was looking at the ground, and I knew he was upset, so I took advantage of him while he literally wasn't looking. I started walking closer and closer to him, making him move over. I kept doing this until I saw a spider web hanging from a tree branch. My plan worked perfectly, and he walked right into it.

"AHHH! GET IT OFF!" Riker screamed, swatting at his face.

Ross and Rydel came running over.

"Riker, what happened?" Rydel asked.

"There's… Spiders!" Riker shouted, still swatting at his face.

"You totally deserved that," I said.

Riker was apparently satisfied he had gotten the web off of himself, and turned to face me.

"What do you mean I deserved that?"

"You've been so mean to me all day! You deserved to get a face full of spider web!"

"Riley, I'm terrified of spiders!"

"I know. That's why it was perfect."

"Riley!"

"Oh stop already! It's over. You got it all off. Stop yelling at me."

"Riley, I was terrified!"

"You're just being a big baby!"

"I am not!"

"Yeah, you are!"

"How can you say that!?"

"Because it's true!"

"Riley!"

"You guys, enough!" Rydel shouted.

I glared at Riker.

"Riley, you walk with Ross. Riker, you walk with me," said Rydel.

Ross took my hand, and pulled me forward to start walking.

 **Later…**

 **Riley POV**

"Ok, I think we should stop for the night," Ross said, turning around to face Rydel and Riker.

"Ok. Let's set up our tents," said Rydel.

Riker whispered something to Ross, and then Ross whispered something to Rydel. What was he saying _now_?

"Riley? Can I talk to you for a second?" Rydel asked.

"Sure."

Rydel pulled me into the woods a little bit.

"Uh… I don't know how to tell you exactly, so I'm just going to be honest and tell you straight out."

"Ok?"

"Riker doesn't want to share a tent with you tonight."

"He what?"

"Yeah… I'm sorry. But you can share one with me. Don't worry, you won't be alone."

Rydel and I set up our tent and sleeping bags. I laid down facing away from Rydel, and cried myself to sleep.

 **Morning…**

 **Riker POV**

"Riker get up! RIKER!" Rydel shouted.

I opened my eyes, and was surprised to see my sister crying.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Riley's gone."

"She's gone!?"

"I can't find her anywhere!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **Riker POV**

"Wait. She's just gone? How long has she been gone for?" I asked.

"I don't know! When I woke up, she wasn't there. I figured she was going to the bathroom or something, but after 10 minutes, I got up and looked around, and I couldn't fine her, so I woke you up!"

Ross was finally awake now. He gave Rydel a hug as I ran out of the tent, calling for Riley.

"RILEY! RILEY PLEASE ANSWER ME!"

"Riker, can't we just call her?" Ross asked, walking up behind me.

"No, she doesn't have her phone. Her parents made her leave it at home.

"Riker! Riley's backpack is gone, and so is my phone! Maybe Riley has it!" Rydel shouted from her tent.

"Ross call her!" I shouted.

Ross took out his phone, and called Rydel's.

 **Ross POV**

"Hello?"

"Riley!?"

"Yeah."

"Uh… This is Ross. Where are you?"

"I just got to the parking lot."

"You're where!?"

"The parking lot. I'm at the bottom of the mountain."

"How!?"

"I got up in the middle of the night, and decided to leave."

"Why?"

"Because Riker completely overreacted, and he's being a jerk. I just couldn't take it anymore, and I needed to leave. I'm sorry if I scared you guys."

"Ross! Let me talk to her!" Riker said.

"Riley? Riker wants to talk to you."

"No! Ross don't, or I'll hang up. I don't want to talk to him. I'm going to go back to my house. Please don't let Riker come over when you guys get back, ok? I really just don't want to talk to him. I think it might be better if we just broke up, but I can't do that today. I just need time to get my thoughts together."

"Wait, how are you getting home?"

"I'll just call my parents or something."

"Ok."

"I'm sorry I just left. But thanks for understanding. Bye."

"Bye."

As soon as I hung up, Riker practically exploded.

"I wanted to talk to her! Why'd you hang up!?"

"Riker… Uh… She didn't want to talk to you…"

"And?"

"What do you mean, _and_?"

"I can tell there's more."

"She uh… She said she was probably going to… um…"

"What!?"

"Break up with you…"

"What!?"

"She said you overreacted, and I kind of agree. A lot's happened to her. You need to be sensitive to her right now."

"Now you're against me too!?"

"Riker, we're not against you. We just think you need to be more sensitive to Riley," Rydel said, softly.

"Well where is she?" Riker asked.

"The bottom of the mountain."

"What's she doing now?"

"She's going home."

"Well come on, we better start moving. I need to go over there and talk to her."

"Uh… Riker?"

"What?"

"She said not to let you go over there today…"

"What!?"

"Riker, she's just hurt right now. She probably said stuff she didn't mean, like breaking up with you. She probably wasn't serious. Just give her some time," said Rydel.

"Fine…"

 **Riley POV**

I tried calling my parents to pick me up, but apparently, they were in Pennsylvania, so they couldn't! What now…? I guess I'll have to call… Ellington. It was between Rocky and Ellington, but since Ellington wasn't related to Riker, I chose him.

"Rydel?"

"No. Uh… It's Riley."

"Oh hi, Riley. What's up?"

"I need you to do me a huge favor."

"What?"

"Can you come pick me up?"

"Where are you?"

"The parking lot of the mountain we went to climb."

"Don't you have Riker's car?"

"Uh… No… Look, it's a long story. I'll tell you when you get here. You're coming right?"

"Yeah, I'll be right there."

"Thanks."

Within a little bit, Ellington showed up. He seemed surprised to see only me. But if I were him, I'd be surprised to see only me, too.

"Where's everyone else?"

"On the mountain."

"What?"

I explained everything to Ellington, and by the time we were back home, I was crying about what Riker had done.

"Riley, do you want to come chill over at my house until your parents get back? Or do you want to be alone? Or I could come over to your house if you wanted."

"Can you come over and just keep me company?"

"Yeah."

Ellington walked me to my house. I unlocked the door, and we went inside and sat on the couch. He got me talking about what Riker did and said, and before long, I completely fell apart, and I couldn't talk anymore.

"Riley, it's ok. I'm sure he didn't mean any of that."

I just cried into Ellington's shoulder until I calmed down.

"Do you need me to do anything for you, Riley?"

"Actually… I'm kind of hungry…"

"Do you want to go out for pizza?"

"I don't know… Wouldn't that be weird?"

"Why?"

"Because… You know!"

"Riley, as of now, you're still Riker's girl. We'd just go out to have pizza as friends, nothing else. We'd just go out, not _go_ _out_."

"Ok. Thanks."

 **Later…**

 **Riker POV**

"Finally we're home!" Ross shouted as we pulled into our driveway.

"I'm going to Riley's," I said, getting out of the car.

"Riker, she said she didn't want you coming over!" Rydel shouted.

"I don't care! I need to talk to her!"

I sprinted over to Riley's and pounded on the door. I needed to talk to her! When no one came to answer the door, I started worrying. What if something happened to her!?

I ran back over to my house.

"Guys! She's not home!" I shouted.

"Neither is Ellington…" Rydel said, reading a note.

"What?" I asked.

"Ellington took Riley out to go have pizza a little while ago."

"He took her _out_!?"

"Riker, you need to calm down!"

"He took her _OUT_!?"

"Riker, calm down!"

I stormed up to my room. Rocky was sitting on his bed when I slammed the door shut. I could feel his eyes staring at me as hot tears ran down my face.

"Riker? Is everything ok?"

"Everything is _not_ ok."

"Can I help?"

"Not unless you can get Riley back for me."

"What happened?"

"She mad at me because we had a fight, and she says I overreacted."

"Well did you?"

"I guess a little bit…"

"Did you apologize?"

"No…"

"Riker."

"Well I didn't get the chance to!"

"You need to apologize to her."

"I can't!"

"Why not!?"

"She's at some pizza place with… _Ellington_ …"

"Wait. So are you implying that you think they're like… together or something?"

"I don't know! Maybe! She hates me, and she even told Ross that she wanted to break up with me!"

"Even if she did break up with you, I don't think she'd go out with Ellington in the same day. She knows you guys are friends and stuff, and she wouldn't do that because it's just wrong, and Riley's not like that!"

"Then why did she have to say all of those things?"

"These are good questions to ask her for yourself."

"When?"

"Whenever she gets home."

I sighed.

"Come on. I'll bet once you go over and talk to her, things will be back to normal. It was only a fight. You guys can move past this."

"I hope so…"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **Riley POV**

Ellington walked me to my door when we got back.

"Thanks for taking me out for pizza. And talking to me about… you know…" I said, hugging Ellington.

"You're welcome. I'm just glad you feel better now."

I smiled.

"Goodnight Ellington," I said, unlocking my door.

"Goodnight Riley."

 **Riker POV**

"What are you looking at?" Rocky asked.

"Riley and Ellington. They're back."

"What's so interesting about them?"

"They just hugged! I'm going to kill him!"

"Riker, calm yourself. It was probably just a thank you hug, or a goodnight hug. Or maybe a you're a really great friend hug."

"Or an I love you hug…"

"Riker, I seriously doubt that. Hey! Where are you going!?"

"Downstairs to kill Ellington!"

"Before you kill him, ask him how his date night was, and tell me later."

"Rocky!"

"Just kidding!"

I ran down the stairs. Ellington was just coming inside when I slammed him up against the door.

"Whoa! Riker!"

"What!?"

"What's this about?"

"What's what about?"

"I'm pinned against the door!"

"Gee, I wonder why."

"Riker, I have no idea why!"

"Well that sucks for you then, doesn't it?"

Ellington shoved me hard off of him.

"What's your problem, Riker?"

"My problem is that you went out with my girlfriend!"

"I didn't _go_ _out_ with her. We just went out to have some pizza. You know you made her really upset. You should go apologize."

"What happened between you two?"

"Nothing!"

"You swear nothing happened?"

"Riker, I swear nothing happened. Why are you being so protective of her anyway?"

"Because she's my girl, and I love her, and I'm really upset that she's mad at me!"

"Well then why don't you go over there and apologize?"

"It's almost 11:00!"

"So? She's probably still awake. We just got home 5 minutes ago."

"Ok. I'll be right back."

I ran out the door, and over to Riley's. I knocked on the door, and Riley's father answered it.

"Can I please talk to Riley?"

"I don't know if that's such a good idea."

"Please? I know she's mad at me, and I really just want to fix everything!"

"Fine. She's in her room. Go ahead, but don't stay too long. It's getting late."

"Thanks!"

I ran down the hall and knocked on Riley's door.

"What?" Riley called.

"It's Riker."

Silence. I'm not off to a good start…

"Riley, can I come in? I want to talk to you."

Riley opened the door, and she was crying.

"You want to talk to me, or you want to fight with me, and make me feel miserable?"

I shut Riley's door, and pulled her over to her bed so we could sit down.

"Riley, I'm sorry for everything, especially our fight. Ross said you wanted to break up with me. Is that true?"

"Yeah…"

"Oh…"

"But not anymore."

"Really!?"

"Yeah…"

"You still love me?"

"Of course I do."

"Then why'd you say all of that stuff?"

"I'm sorry, Riker. I was just mad, and I hadn't taken my pills. And you're right. I should've."

"Why did you leave this morning?"

"Because having Rydel tell me that my own boyfriend didn't want to share a tent with me, broke my heart. I just wanted to leave."

"Riley, I was just mad, I didn't mean to make you upset or anything."

"I know. It's ok."

"So what happened with you and Ellington?"

"Nothing really. He picked me up because my parents were away earlier. He knew I was upset, so he thought it might be good to get away, and go out for pizza. And it was awesome to eat something other than sandwiches!"

"But you're not going out with him or anything, right?"

"No! Riker, I'm _your_ girlfriend. Ellington's just my friend. But he knows how to make me feel better."

"Well if he made you feel better, then I'm glad he took you out."

"Thanks for saying that."

I hugged Riley. Things were back on track with us again.

"Riker?"

"Yeah?"

"I have to tell you something."

"What?"

"I made you walk into that spider web…"

"What!?"

"I kept inching over so you'd move over too, and you were looking down, so it was actually really easy to make you walk into it."

"That's so mean!"

"I know! I'm sorry…"

"Well… I guess I kind of deserved it. I wasn't very nice… I kind of forced you to tell me if you took your pills, and I'm sorry. I won't ever do something like that again."

"Thanks."

"But you're going to take your pills tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah. It was stupid not to. I was paranoid all day that something was going to happen. But it never did. I was just being stupid."

"You're not being stupid. Everything messed with your head. It's not your fault."

"I just wish it would all go away!"

"It will. Eventually…"

"I know… It's just hard right now… And you're the only thing helping."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You're the only one I talk to about it."

"What about the therapist?"

"Well I tell her, but I know she doesn't really care. It's her job, and she's doing it to make money. She helps, but I know when I talk to you, you actually care, and I love that."

"Awww."

"Thanks for coming over tonight."

"I thought you didn't want me to."

"I didn't, but I was also testing you to see if you'd come over anyway."

"Was I supposed to?"

"Yes."

"Well I felt bad…"

"So did I."

"But everything's ok now, right?"

"Only on one condition."

"What?"

"You haven't kissed me since our kiss on the docks. I want another one."

I smiled.

"Ok."

I leaned in, and kissed Riley. It felt so amazing. Finally we broke apart, said goodnight, and I went home. But I knew I'd see her again tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **The Next Morning…**

 **Riker POV**

I texted Riley so many times this morning, asking her if I could come over, or if she wanted to come over, or if she just wanted to do something, but I never got a response! By the time it was 11:00, I knew something was wrong because she would be up by now.

I walked over to Riley's house, and knocked on the door, nervously. Riley's father answered it.

"Is Riley here?"

"Uh… Yeah. She's in the kitchen eating breakfast, but she had a really rough night, so…"

"I get it."

Riley's father let me in, and I walked to the kitchen. Riley was staring off into nowhere, crying. But it wasn't normal crying. It was the kind where your breathing is completely normal, but you have constant tears falling down your face. And she looked exhausted. It didn't even look like she had touched her breakfast. I sat down beside her.

"Riley?"

Riley turned and looked at me, but didn't say anything.

"Are you ok?"

Riley looked down, and stirred her cereal slowly.

"I'm sorry. We don't have to talk about it. Do you want to do something? We could go to the beach."

Riley looked back at me again.

"You want to go to the beach?"

Riley slowly nodded, and wiped her face.

"Ok, you go get changed. I'll run over to my house, and I'll meet you back here in a few minutes."

I ran back to my house, and changed. When I got back to Riley's, Riley was sitting on the couch in her swim suit, obviously waiting for me.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

So Riley wasn't talking today, I guess… I held my hand out to her, and thank goodness she took it because I didn't know what else to do. Riley and I walked down to the beach without saying a word. Instead of the beach though, Riley pulled me to the docks. It was our special spot.

And then I had a thought. Should I pick her up and throw her off? It might make her laugh, but it might not. And something was definitely wrong. I guess I better not…

Riley and I sat down on the edge of the dock, and let our feet hang in the water. Riley leaned her head on my shoulder, and took one of my hands in hers. What exactly am I supposed to do now? Luckily, Riley made that decision for me.

"Riker?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Being weird this morning."

"Riley, it's fine. Your dad told me you had a rough night."

"It was awful…" Riley said, crying harder now.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. I just want you to hug me, and tell me everything's going to be ok, even though it doesn't seem like things can get better…"

I pulled Riley close to me, and held her tight in my arms.

"Riley, I promise you, everything's going to be ok, and it's going to get better. And I'm not only saying this because you told me to. I'm saying it, because I know it will. You're a fighter, Riley, and you're strong."

"How can you say that!? I cry all the time about stupid stuff!"

"It doesn't matter. Riley, I know you're strong. You can make it through, and things will get easier. And if you ever want to talk about anything, you have me, Ross, Rydel, Rocky, Ryland, and Ellington. But you also have your parents. If anything's wrong, you know you can come to any of us."

"It's just so hard right now."

"I know. But it'll get better. I promise."

"I just hate him so much for doing this to me!"

"Dylan?"

"Yeah. He's hurt me so much, in so many ways. It just feels like I'm all alone in the world, and nothing's helping."

"Did you take your pills this morning?"

"Yes…"

"Well don't those help?"

"Yeah, a little bit, but I just feel like I'm taking one step forward, and two steps back. I just feel worse and worse every day."

"How?"

"Riker, I don't want to talk about it."

"Sorry… Do you want to do something to take your mind off of it?"

"I really don't feel like it. I think I just want to lay in bed."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

 **Days Later…**

 **Riker POV**

"Rocky, I go over there every day, and all she wants to do is lay in bed and do nothing all day long! And she doesn't go on her phone anymore, so I can't even text her! I just hate seeing her like this! She's so miserable!"

"Do you think she's thinking about like…"

"Like what?"

"Like… Killing herself? To make it stop?"

"I don't know. I hope not. I don't think she's the kind of person who would do something like that. She's smart, and she would realize that that's a stupid idea."

"Do her parents think something's seriously wrong?"

"Well yeah…"

"What are they doing about it?"

"They talked to her therapist again, and the therapist is trying something new to help her, so they're not doing anything at the moment, but I know they keep checking on her, just to make sure she's ok and stuff. In fact her dad called me this morning. They're going somewhere today, and he wanted me to come over and watch her while they're gone. He's worried about leaving her home alone."

"You should try to cheer her up or something."

"Duh! I'm not letting her sit in bed all day. We're going to do stuff."

"When do you have to leave?"

"A few minutes, actually."

"Are you going to change first? You're wearing pajamas."

"No. Riley's in her pajamas. She just wants to be lazy. I'll be lazy with her. Well unless I can actually get her out of bed."

"Well good luck."

"Thanks. I think I'll need it."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **Riker POV**

I walked over to Riley's. Her parents were just leaving.

"Hey Riker, can I talk to you for a second?" Riley's dad asked.

"Sure."

"Thanks for coming over to keep an eye on Riley. I just didn't want to leave her home alone in case she got any crazy ideas. Do you think you might be able to get her out of bed?"

"I'll definitely try. I hate seeing her like this."

"Me too. If she doesn't start getting better soon, we might have to look for a better therapist before she gets even worse. I just don't know why she's letting it get to her like this. She can normally ignore stuff and move on. But somehow this is really messing with her."

"I'll try to help her."

"Thanks Riker."

"What time will you be back?"

"I'm not sure exactly. Probably before midnight. Maybe around 11:30."

"Ok, sounds good."

"Alright. Thanks again, Riker."

"No problem."

I went into Riley's house and walked down the hall. Riley's door was open, and Riley was in bed, looking out the window.

"Riley?"

She turned around quickly and looked scared until she saw it was me.

"It's ok. It's just me!"

"Ugh! Riker! You scared me half to death!"

"Sorry."

"What are you doing here?"

"I knew your parents weren't going to be home today, so I thought I'd come over and keep you company."

"My dad told you to come over and watch me, didn't he?"

"How did you know!?"

"I heard him on the phone with you."

"Oh…"

"I don't know why he doesn't trust me."

"It's not that he doesn't trust you. He's just worried about you. You've been in bed for the past few days, and you haven't really done anything."

"Well…"

"Well what?"

"I don't know… Look, Riker, you can go home. You don't need to stay here. I'll be fine."

"No. Riley, I want to stay here. You're my girlfriend, and even if you weren't, I'd still care about you, and I wouldn't want you to be alone, feeling so miserable. How about we do something?"

"I don't really feel like it."

"Come on, Riley. We used to have so much fun together. Please?"

"Ugh! Why do you have to give me that face?"

"Because I'm trying to guilt you into doing something. Is it working?"

"I don't know yet…"

"Please, Riley?"

"Well… Wait. What exactly did you have in mind?"

"Uh…"

To be honest, I didn't think it would be this easy, and I hadn't actually thought of what we were going to do…

"Um… Well we could… Uh… We could go to the beach."

"Isn't it a little bit cold outside?"

"Well yeah… But didn't you say you're used to swimming in cold water?"

"Yeah, but that was before… everything happened… And I was actually normal…"

"Ok… Well… What do you want to do?"

Bad question…

"I want to lay in bed."

"Ok… Well… How about instead, we could… I could take you out to a restaurant."

"I'm not really hungry."

"Have you eaten anything today?"

"No."

"Riley! It's almost 2:00!"

"So?"

"Ok, how about you get dressed, I'll get dressed, and we'll go out to eat?"

" _Or_ , we can stay here."

"You want me to make you something?"

"No. I just want to stay in bed."

"Riley, come on!"

"Ok, ok. How about we compromise?"

"Ok. How?"

"I'll eat, but it has to be munchkins from Dunkin Donuts."

"Ok. Let's go."

"What do you mean, let's go? I'm not going!"

"Well I'm not leaving you here alone!"

"Well then I guess I'm not eating, then."

"Oh yes you are! I'm calling Rocky to go get you your munchkins."

 **Later…**

 **Riker POV**

"Riley."

"Yeah?"

"Can we do something?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know! But sitting in bed is not an option!"

"Look, I ate the donuts for you, why can't I do what I want to do now?"

"Because you've been in bed for days!"

"Ok, I have an idea. I get to stay in bed, but we'll watch a movie."

"No. How about we watch a movie, but we'll do it in the living room so you won't be in bed."

Riley gave me an "I don't think so" look. But I needed to get her out of bed! If I could just get her out of bed, I'm sure she would feel better!

"Riley, come on. We can bring pillows and blankets. It'll be just like your bed, except it's the couch."

"Exactly."

"Come on? Please? I'll do everything! I'll set up the movie, I'll bring out the pillows and blankets, I'll even carry you out there!"

"Fine."

"YES! Now what movie do you want to watch?"

"I don't care."

Of course she doesn't…

I grabbed a movie, pillows, blankets, and I brought everything into the living room. I even made popcorn. Maybe I could get her to eat some. I put the movie in, spread out the pillows and blankets, and put the popcorn in a bowl. I went back to Riley's room, and she was right where I left her. I picked her up, and put her on the couch.

"Ok. Movie time."

Riley just looked at me.

"Riley, can't you at least _pretend_ to have fun?"

"But I'm not!"

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to do anything!"

"Well why not?"

"Because…"

"Because why?"

"I… I actually don't know why…"

"Riley, I think it's just because you're so… just paranoid with the whole Dylan thing. Why are you letting it get to you? Even your dad said he was surprised!"

"I don't know! I can't help it! I just think about him and what he did, and it just makes me so upset! He's getting revenge for when I said I wouldn't get back together with him, and he's not even here! How can he be hurting me so much, when he's not even here!?"

"Riley, he's only in your mind. He isn't anywhere. You just need to try to relax, and not think about him."

"Riker, it's not that easy. I almost died. Twice."

"I know."

"Well it's not that easy!"

"But Riley, you have to at least try not to let it get to you!"

"Why are you against me on this!? I'm telling you that it's too hard right now! I just feel miserable, and I can't do anything about it! And neither can you! And you fighting against me isn't helping!"

Riley got up and ran out the door, so of course I had to go after her. It was no surprise that she went to the beach, and then the docks. I sat down next to her on the edge where she was crying.

"Riley."

"I don't get it, Riker! You knew I felt awful, and you made me feel worse!"

"Riley, I'm sorry."

"How could you do that to me?"

"Riley!"

Riley stood up and started walking away.

"Riley, wait!"

She turned around, and before I could even do anything, I was in the water. Riley pushed me in the water! How could she do that!?

I pulled myself up on the dock, and sprinted after Riley, who was halfway to the beach already.

"Riley!"

"Stop following me!"

"Riley, I'm sorry, but you can't just push me off the dock like that!"

"Well you shouldn't fight with me when I already feel miserable!"

"Riley, I'm sorry! Can we talk about this?"

Riley just kept walking back to her house. I didn't stop her. It was good she was going back there. But I followed her, still. When we got to her house, she slammed the door in my face, but I didn't care anymore. I opened it, and went in after her.

"Riley!"

Riley walked into the kitchen, and stood facing me. I walked closer.

"Don't you dare touch me!"

"Riley, what's your problem?"

"Stop! Don't come any closer!"

"Why?"

"Because I said so."

"Riley, what's going on?"

"Riker, I trusted you! I trusted you so much! And I've been feeling so awful lately! All you can do is fight with me! My own boyfriend won't even do anything for me when he knows how I feel! You don't even care about me anymore!"

"Riley, I _do_ care about you! I care about you a lot!"

"I don't know if I believe that…"

"Riley-"

"OW!"

"What!?"

"I cut myself!"

"How?"

"On a piece of broken glass."

"Where is there broken glass?"

"On the counter. My dad broke a wine glass, and he hasn't glued it back together again yet. Ugh! This really hurts!"

I stepped closer.

"Riker-"

"Riley, please. Let me fix your finger up. Then you can go back to hating me. But at least let me fix it."

Riley sighed.

"Fine."

"Come on."

Riley and I went to the bathroom, and I washed her finger off. I disinfected it, and put a band aid on it for her. When I was finished, our eyes met in the mirror.

"Riley, I'm really sorry. Please forgive me. I should've been more sensitive. I'm sorry."

Riley wrapped her arms around my neck and started crying.

"Riker, it's just so hard!"

"Awww! Riley, you're shaking!"

"Riker, I just want to make it stop! Please make it _stop_!"

"Shhh! Riley, it's going to be ok, trust me."

"Riker?"

"Yeah?"

"You're all wet."

"Hmmm, how did that happen?"

"Sorry…"

"Riley, it's ok. You were upset. Just don't do it again."

"What time is it?"

"Almost 8:00. Why?"

"That movie is looking pretty good to me now…"

"You really want to watch it?"

"Only if you stay and watch it with me."

"Of course. But I think I should change first."

"Probably… Are you leaving me here alone?"

"No. I'm bringing you to my house, and then bringing you back here."

"Why won't you let me stay here alone?"

"Because I love you, and I don't want you to be alone. Now come on, I'm freezing."

"You're wet."

"Exactly."

I took Riley's hand, and pulled her out the door, and over to my house, but nobody was home, so I was going to need to think for a minute on what to do with Riley. I unlocked the door, and brought Riley up to my room. I picked out a set of pajamas, and then I looked at Riley. What to do now…

"Are you going to get changed?" Riley asked.

"Yeah."

"Well go."

"I'm not sure I trust you."

"So?"

"So I can't leave you here alone!"

"You left me alone when you set up the movie!"

"Well that was before you exploded and ran out on me!"

"So what are you going to do now?"

"I haven't figured that out yet."

"Wait. So you won't leave me for 2 minutes, while you get changed in the bathroom, which is 10 feet away from your room? What's going to happen when you have to go to the bathroom?"

She did have a good point…

"Ok, do you swear you'll stay here until I get back?"

"Yeah."

"Ok."

I went in the bathroom and closed the door. I changed as fast as I possibly could, and ran back down the hall to my bedroom, and Riley was gone!

"Riley! You said you'd be here! Where are you!?"

I heard laughing from my closet, so I yanked the door open. Riley was standing there laughing at me.

"What are you doing in there!?"

"Hiding to see how scared you'd be! Riker, you should've heard yourself! You sounded so scared!"

"Riley, I was! I thought I had lost you!"

Riley rolled her eyes. Sure I wasn't happy about her trick, but to see her laughing right now, meant everything to me.

"Come on, we're going back to your house to watch that movie."

Riley screamed as I picked her up. I carried her back over to her house, and put her down on the couch. I turned the lights off, and sat down next to her. I started the movie, and pulled the blankets over us. Surprisingly, Riley wanted to eat the popcorn I had made, but I was just so happy that she seemed to be doing a little better. I put my arm around her, and she snuggled closer to me. For once, our relationship almost felt normal. But it didn't last long…


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **Riker POV**

"TURN IT OFF!" Riley screamed, only inches from my ear.

I grabbed the remote and paused the movie as fast as I possibly could.

"What is it!?" I asked, confused.

"I heard something…"

"Where?"

"In the basement."

"So?"

"Go down there and make sure everything's ok."

"I'm not going down _there_!"

"Why not!?"

"Because it's a basement!"

"Riker, you need to!"

Riley got up, went to her room, and came back with a baseball bat.

"Here."

"Why was that in your room?"

"Just in case. Now go down in the basement!"

I really didn't want to, but after everything today, I figured the basement situation had to be better than everything else I had been through today. I took the bat from Riley, and slowly walked over to the door.

"Go!"

"Shhh!"

I opened the door, turned on the light, and slowly started walking down the stairs. There wasn't much down there. And I didn't see anyone.

"RIKER!"

I sprinted back up the stairs.

"WHAT!?" I shouted.

"Someone just drove by! No one ever drives by at this time of night!"

I sighed. She's just paranoid…

"Riley, I'm sure it was just one of your neighbors."

"Was there anyone down there?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

Riley pulled me back over to the couch. We got back under the blankets again, and unpaused the movie.

"Am I driving you nuts?" Riley whispered to me.

I paused the movie.

"What?"

"Am I driving you nuts?"

"No. Why?"

"Because I feel bad that I'm acting like a crazy person!"

"You're not driving me nuts."

"Well I'm driving _myself_ nuts! I can't relax! Everything is floating around in my brain!"

"Riley, did you take your pills tonight?"

"No…"

"Riley."

"I forgot! Honest!"

"Go take them."

Riley walked into the kitchen behind me. When she didn't come back for a few minutes, I went in to look for her. She was staring out the window.

"Riley?"

"He's out there, I can feel it!"

"Riley, come here. He's not out there. He's gone."

"Then why I am so worried?"

"Because you've gone through so much!"

"Do you really think he's gone?"

"I really think he's gone. Even if he had survived falling off a cliff, the police would've found him, and brought him back to the mental place, or put him in jail by now. Whether he's dead or alive, you're safe, I promise."

"Ok. I believe you."

"Ok. How about we finish the movie now?"

"Ok…"

Riley and I sat back down on the couch again. But Riley didn't feel like watching the movie yet.

"Why are you touching my hair?" I asked.

"Because it's wet, and you didn't comb it, so it looks weird."

"Well what are you doing to it?"

"Messing it up."

"Riley!"

"I'm kidding! I'm kind of making it look how it's supposed to. But it's all tangled!"

"Just stop touching it, and watch the movie."

"Fine."

She just couldn't sit still tonight… She started playing with one of my hands, and feeling the tips of my fingers, which were hard and rough because I played the bass.

I paused the movie. Again.

"Riley?"

"What?"

"Is there something bothering you?"

"What do you think?"

"I think there is."

"Well you're right."

"What's wrong?"

"DYLAN! THAT'S WHAT'S _BEEN_ WRONG! I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT HIM, AND IT'S DRIVING ME INSANE! HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY CONCENTRATE ON THE STUPID MOVIE!?"

"Riley, please calm down. Let's talk about this, ok?"

"I can't! I've tried so hard to be calm all night, and I can't take it anymore!"

I grabbed Riley around the waist, and pulled her closer to me.

"Riley, it's ok. Just breathe, ok? Just breathe, and try to calm down."

Riley started crying, and I felt bad for her, because she wasn't really even really Riley anymore. Dylan had completely messed up her brain, and now she was going crazy inside. She couldn't really control her emotions or what she felt. She blew up at the slightest things, and she was paranoid. I was slowly watching my girl slip away, and there wasn't anything I could do, but start crying, myself.

I held her tightly to me as a tear fell down my face. I still loved her, but I just wished I could have the old Riley back. And I wasn't sure if I would ever see that again.

Riley was shaking in my arms, and I didn't know what I could do to calm her down. I just wrapped us up tighter in blankets, and held her closer.

After a little while, she stopped shaking, and her breathing was pretty normal. She was laying under the blankets, on my lap. I lifted the blankets a little, and her eyes were closed.

"Riley?" I whispered.

Nothing. I couldn't blame her though. I was exhausted too. And I accidentally let myself fall asleep…

 **Later…**

 **Riker POV**

I woke up, and I realized I had let myself fall asleep! I looked up, and I saw the TV on. I looked next to me, and Riley was sitting there watching it. I sighed. At least she was still here…

"Riker?"

"Yeah?"

"You're awake."

"I am. What time is it?"

"Almost 3:00."

"Really!?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Are your parents home!?"

"Yeah they came home around 11:00."

"How do you know?"

"I woke up, you were asleep, I watched TV, and then my parents came home."

"So you just stayed here while I was sleeping?"

"Yeah?"

"Oh…"

"Why? Was I supposed to do something?"

"No. I'm just a little surprised you didn't go anywhere or do anything. Were your parents mad I was asleep?"

"They don't know about it."

"What? How?"

"When they came home, I told them we had just started a movie, so they shouldn't disturb us. They just went to bed, and didn't care."

"Really?"

"Yeah. They trust us, Riker."

"But I was supposed to watch you tonight. I was supposed to make sure nothing happened. And I fell asleep…"

"Riker, it's fine. I'm still here in one piece."

"I know. Thanks for covering for me. But I just feel guilty…"

"Well don't! If I had needed anything, I would've woken you up!"

"What did you do all this time?"

"I watched TV."

"For hours!?"

"Yeah…?"

"Aren't you tired?"

"I guess a little…"

"Let's go to sleep. It's been a long day."

"Do I get to sleep on your lap again?"

"Sure. Come here."

Riley shut the TV off, and laid her head on my lap. It seemed like things were finally starting to calm down. But then tomorrow came…


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **The Next Day…**

 **Riker POV**

"Riker wake up. Riker wake up. Riker!"

I opened my eyes, and looked down. Riley was poking my stomach.

"Good, you're awake."

"What? Do you need something?"

"No. I just wanted to hear your voice again."

Awww… I smiled.

"Do you want me to make you breakfast?"

"I'm not really that hungry."

"Riley, come on. You have to eat."

"Fine."

"Let's go."

Riley's parents were already awake. Her dad had laid out her pills for her, so she took them while I started mixing stuff up to make pancakes. I was so tired though.

Riley's dad came in the kitchen to get more coffee.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Just so you know, Riker spent the night. And he kept me company all day yesterday."

"And now he's making you breakfast too?"

"Yup."

"Well isn't that nice of him?"

"Yeah."

Riley and I ate breakfast together. I was glad to finally see her eating somewhat normally again. When we were done eating, I cleaned up from breakfast, and then Riley pulled me into her bedroom.

"Riker?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we talk?"

"Of course!"

"Ok…"

"Well what do you want to talk about?"

"I want to talk about last night."

"What about it?"

"I don't get it."

"What?"

"I'm so awful to you, and you still care about me! Even after everything I did last night, you kept coming back, and trying to fix things, even if they weren't your fault! I pushed you off the dock, and you weren't even that mad!"

"Riley, I know you're going through a lot, and I know sometimes you don't mean the things you say, and I love you. I told you I'll love you no matter what! This is just a bump in our relationship, and sooner or later, it'll get smoothed out."

"More like a giant mountain in our relationship! Riker, let's face it. I don't think I'm ever going to get better. I feel like I'm getting worse every day! It feels like I'm drowning, and I can't get to the surface… I think we should break up…"

"What!? Why!?"

"Because I'm messed up! You don't want a girlfriend like me! I treat you horribly! I yell at you for stuff that isn't really even your fault! I feel bad about it, but there isn't really anything I can do. Except… break up with you…"

"Riley, please don't! I love you! And I know what you're going through, and I'll deal with it. I think it'll get better! Just give it some time! _Please_!"

"Why are you saying all that?"

"Riley I mean it all! I really don't want to break up!"

"Riker, I'm sorry… But it's not ok for me to treat you like that! And I can't control myself. I'm sorry… But it's over…"

Time froze. This felt like a dream, mostly because I was lightheaded and a little dizzy. How could she break up with me? Was this for real?

"Riker, are you ok?"

"Yeah…"

"I'm sorry. I think it would be best if you went home now…"

"Ok," I said, as I started crying.

I walked out of Riley's room without looking back. It just hurt so much right now. But I still wasn't giving up on her.

I went home and walked up to my bedroom. I let myself fall onto my bed.

"Whoa, are you crying? Riker, what happened over there?" Rocky asked.

I sighed.

"Nothing…"

"Obviously something."

"She broke up with me."

"Really!?"

"Yeah…"

"But you guys were so good for each other! Why'd she break up with you? Is she back with that guy… Dylan?"

"No! Dylan's gone! But he's still messing with her brain. She acts out all the time, and I know it's not really her fault, but now she feels bad about it, and she broke up with me."

"She broke up with you because she treats you badly?"

"Kind of… She can't really control herself. And I guess she just doesn't want to do that to me anymore. But I don't care! I love her, and want her back!"

"So go get her back!"

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Her mind is made up… And it's not on me…"

"So what are you going to do?"

"There's nothing I _can_ do. All I can do is wait, and hope she gets better…"

"I'm sorry. I know you loved her."

"I still do…"

 **A Few Days Later…**

 **Riker POV**

"What are you looking at?" Rocky asked.

"Riley."

Rocky looked out the window next to me.

"Dude, that's just creepy!"

Riley had left her curtains open, so I could see her in her room. And I had been watching her for a while now. She was pacing back and forth.

"Stop watching her, you weirdo!"

Rocky grabbed my arm, and pulled me away from the window.

"I just miss her…"

"I know! All you talk about is Riley!"

"Well…"

"Well, what?"

"I love her."

Rocky stared back at me, annoyed because we weren't getting anywhere.

"Riker, if you're this upset, go do something about it! You said she was messed up! Maybe you can persuade her to get back together with you!"

I sighed.

"Rocky, I really think it might be over for us."

I looked back out the window. She was still pacing, and had been for the past hour. It's been days, and she isn't getting better. If anything, she's getting worse. I'm losing, and Dylan's winning.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

 **A Few Days Later…**

 **Riker POV**

"Riker!" Rydel called up the stairs.

"What!?" I called back.

"Riley's here!"

She's what!? I ran down the stairs as fast as I could. And there she was. Riley was standing there. Why, though!?

"Hi," said Riley, looking down.

"Hi," I said back.

"Riker?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we still friends?"

"Of course we are!" I said, hugging her.

"Ok, good."

"Why did you come over here?"

"I missed you."

"Awww! I missed you too," I said, hugging her.

"Do you remember when you took me to Lake George that one day, and we just walked around, and ate ice cream?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we do that again?"

"Sure!"

I don't have a clue what's up with Riley, but if she wants to do something together, I'm all for it!

 **Later…**

 **Riker POV**

I was sitting on a bench next to Riley, eating ice cream. We'd been in Lake George for a few hours now. And it had been pretty normal. Riley was completely different. And I was dying to know why because I loved it when she was like this!

"Riley?"

"Yeah?"

"How have things been with your therapist lately?"

"Uh… Well I'm actually done seeing her."

"Why?"

"She thought I needed to be put in a mental place, and my parents didn't like that, so they stopped sending me. And now I'm off the pills too."

"Really!?"

"Yeah…? Why are you so surprised?"

"Riley, you just seem… normal… It's weird."

"What do you mean, normal?"

"You don't seem paranoid, you're not moody, and you're acting a lot like you did when I first met you."

"So you're happy?"

"Yeah, I am," I said, smiling.

"So you think I'm doing better?"

"Yeah. How though?"

"I don't know. Maybe the pills weren't helping. Maybe they were just making me insane. It feels good not to be under their effects."

"Well… It's getting kind of dark. Don't you think we should head home soon?"

"Hold on. I want to do one more thing."

"What?"

Before I knew it, I was kissing Riley. I had my girl back!

We broke apart, and our eyes met.

"Does this mean we're…"

"Back together? Yeah."

"I love you so much, Riley!"

"I love you too!"

Riley and I got in the car and I started driving us back home.

"Riker?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I broke up with you in the first place. That was just really stupid."

"It's ok. You weren't really yourself."

"But I am now, right?"

"Yeah. How has your mind been, though? Have you been thinking about… you know what?"

"Not really. And I haven't been paranoid that he's going to kill me or anything. And I still believe you. I'm positive he's gone."

"I'm just glad you're doing better."

"Riker, what's that?"

"What's what?"

"Up there on the side of the road."

I couldn't really see because it was really dark, but as we got closer, it ran out into the front of the street, and I had to brake hard.

"OW!"

"Sorry."

As I got a closer look, I could see it was a person that was standing in front of us. And that person just happened to be Dylan.

 **The End.**

 **I'll keep you guys wondering! Dylan got his revenge by driving Riley insane, even though he wasn't there. There'll be another fanfiction after this to end it. But will it end good, or bad? Thank you all for reading. This fanfiction was kind of short, but I like it. If you have any ideas for the next fanfiction, or other fanfictions to come, please leave suggestions. I'm going to finish** ** _The_** ** _Lie_** **first, though. I actually finished writing it, and now I just have to upload it. Thanks for reading. 3 Kylie**


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